SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government plans to introduce a bill in the Legislative Assembly’s 2027 budget session to declare Punjabi, Gojri and Pahari as official languages of the Union Territory, National Conference Rajya Sabha MP Shammi Oberoi said on Thursday.
Speaking to the news agency Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Oberoi said the decision followed a commitment made to the people on behalf of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to include Punjabi among the UT’s official languages.
“We have decided to adopt Punjabi, Gojri, and Pahari languages as official languages,” Oberoi told KNO.
On Wednesday, Oberoi met members of the Sikh Sangat and representatives of various Gurdwara Prabandhak Committees and assured them that Punjabi would be included under the UT’s Official Languages Act.
The Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Act, 2020, enacted by Parliament after the 2019 reorganisation of the erstwhile state, recognises Kashmiri, Dogri, Urdu, Hindi and English as the Union Territory’s official languages. It also provides for special efforts to promote and develop Gojri, Punjabi and Pahari through institutional mechanisms, including the Academy of Art, Culture and Languages.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, empowers the Union Territory’s Legislative Assembly to enact legislation for adopting additional languages as official languages.
